\begin{tikzpicture}[->,>=stealth',shorten >=1pt,auto,node distance=5em,semithick]
    \tikzstyle{every state}=[text=black]
    \tikzset{nearnodes/.style={node distance=2em}}

    \node[state] (1) {1};
    \node[state] (9) [right of=1] {9};
    \node[nearnodes] (+) [left of=1] {+};
    \node[nearnodes] (-) [right of=9] {-};
    \path (1) edge [bend left] node {$a^*b$} (9);
    \path (1) edge [bend right] node {$bc^*$} (9);
\end{tikzpicture}